Hagan ousted in quarters by teammate in Phoenix

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2010 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 2 of 23
26th annual NHRA ARIZONA NATIONALS
Firebird International Raceway
Chandler, Ariz.
Feb. 19-21, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Judy Stropus, 203-438-0501; cell 203-243-2438;
jstropus@earthlink.net

HAGAN OUSTED IN QUARTERS BY TEAMMATE IN PHOENIX

CHANDLER, Ariz. (Feb. 21, 2010) - Starting from the No. 2 qualifying
position, Matt Hagan made it to the quarterfinal round today at the 26th
Annual NHRA Arizona Nationals before bowing out to his Don Schumacher Racing
teammate Jack Beckman.

In his opening match-up against Paul Lee, the driver of the DieHard Dodge
Charger Funny Car won the round despite a parts failure on the car which
caused the burst panel to pop and the parachutes to deploy, slowing him to a
4.307-second pass at 216.90 mph. Lee struck the tires and crossed the finish
line with a losing 7.147/92.14.

Hagan and Beckman launched in the second round with nearly identical
reaction times, but a loss of traction at the hit of the throttle ended
Hagan's day, as he watched his teammate take the win with a 4.136/303.78 to
his own 6.968/126.84 pass.

"On the first lap we had a parts failure, but we still won the round," said
Hagan. "And we were really scrambling in the pits. It was a mad dash to get
everything back together. We didn't have a whole lot of time between rounds
to look at everything, and it went out and smoked the tires.

"I know we have a really fast race car; we just have to find that sweet spot
out there and when we do, look out!²

The final rounds of Top Fuel and Funny Car eliminations have been postponed
until Monday morning because of lateness caused by rain and on-track
incident delays. No matter the result, Hagan will be in fifth place in the
unofficial NHRA Funny Car point standings.

Next up is the 41st annual NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., March
13-15, 2010.

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